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The effects of spaceflight on the human body are largely unknown. Research suggests that spaceflight results in a decline of cognitive ability, although the reasons behind it are not known. The purpose of our study was to test the hypothesis that simulated microgravity would impair the function of neural stem cells. Neural stem cells function to produce the different cell types in the brain, in addition to more stem cells. To test our hypothesis, we isolated and cultured cells in vitro from embryonic chicken brains in neurosphere assays with growth factors. Neurosphere assays test for stem cells via their function –the ability to produce more stem cells (to self-renew) and the different cell types in the brain. We assessed the number of neurospheres and, using antibodies specific to each cell type, their ability to produce the three main types of neural cells in the brain, neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. Confocal laser-scanning microscopy was used to capture images of the fluorescent labels attached to each cell type. Initial experiments were performed under normal gravity, whereas future experiments will be under simulated microgravity. We hope to discover whether or not simulated microgravity has an effect on the function of neural stem cells.
❐ PDFAs people age, so does their skin, which becomes apparent as fine and deep wrinkles. Wrinkling is caused by the degradation and reduced synthesis of collagen. In order to overcome the effects of aging on appearance, people often turn to cosmetic intervention. One common treatment for wrinkling is to use collagen fillers to expand the skin. Collagen injection is, however, invasive and may result in pain, bruising, redness, allergic reactions, swelling, lumpiness, and asymmetry. A less intrusive method with fewer risks would be to stimulate collagen production in the patient’s own skin cells. It’s known that collagen production is stimulated through the activation of communication pathways initiated by transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) proteins. However, which other proteins may enhance collagen production is unclear. Here we test the hypothesis that collagen production will be enhanced by the activation of TGF-β signaling when combined with other signaling pathways. In mouse fibroblast cells we altered signaling pathways to test the activation and blockade of TGF-β signaling with and without the activation or blockade of an additional pathway, the p38 kinase cascade, and assessed the effects on collagen production. Our results indicate that TGF-β activation enhances collagen production compared to controls. We are now testing the effects of activation and blockade of the p38 kinase cascade independently and in conjunction with TGF-β activation. Our results will determine if these combined pathways can enhance collagen stimulation and perhaps provide an alternative to collagen fillers to combat wrinkling.
❐ PDFWhen someone experiences a stroke, their brain performance is affected as critical blood supply is cut off, thus resulting in loss of function as the neurons die. It was once believed that if you damaged or injured your brain it could not self-repair. However, as the field of science advances this theory is being challenged. We now know there are discrete regions of the nervous system that can replace cells that are lost or damaged. One example is the tissue that is responsible for our sense of smell, called the olfactory epithelium. When the olfactory epithelium repairs itself through cell replacement, its function is likewise restored. This is how we are able to maintain a memory of the smells we have encountered over our lifetime. By applying regenerative mechanisms from the olfactory epithelium to the brain, functional recovery following a stroke may allow people to regain partial brain function and cognition. By studying the olfactory epithelium in chicken embryos, our goal is to identify the cells that are capable of cell replacement, termed regeneration. We use antibodies, like those found in your immune system, to apply fluorescent tags specifically to the cells thought to regenerate. A laser confocal microscope is used to visualize the cells labeled with fluorescent tags and produces a digital image that allows one to determine the location and abundance of the labeled cells. This research will contribute to the overall understanding of embryonic development in the olfactory epithelium and the long-term goal of identifying how neural tissue can regenerate to replace lost neurons.
❐ PDFPacific Northwest temperate rainforests are generally distinctive in their resistance to invasive species. Nevertheless, a novel evergreen tree species, Ilex aquifolium, also known as English Holly, is increasingly recognized as a successful invasive tree in undisturbed Pacific Northwest forests. One of the characteristics that makes this invasive plant so unique is its ability to readily establish itself in otherwise undisturbed forests. Nevertheless,no studies have examined the ecosystem impacts of this invasive species. Because I. aquifolium has tough, recalcitrant leaves, the species may also the potential to significantly alter ecosystem soil properties in some of the most productive forests in the northern hemisphere. We investigated soil characteristics underneath I. aquifolium canopies, and in adjacent paired locations without the invasive species, to determine the long term physical and chemical effects on the soil. Our chemical analysis focused on pH, carbon-nitrogen elemental analysis, mineralized nitrogen and phosphorus, extractable cations (K, Mg, Ca, Na), sulfate, soil respiration, and cation exchange capacity. We also investigated changes in soilmoisture, organic matter content and bulk density. Our findings suggest heavy depositions of sulfur and organic matter associated with the presence of these trees (p<0.001; p<0.031 respectively) while soil moisture and pH were correlated with age of the trees (p> 0.0074; p>0.0031 respectively). These results cumulatively suggest the potential ecosystem impacts of a novel invasive species in a temperate rainforest ecosystem.
❐ PDFKeywords: Ilex aquifolium, English Holly, Invasive, Soil Chemistry, Nutrient Cycling
Several of Franz Kafka’s works possess a trend of unfulfilled sexualized gestures carried out between exclusively male characters; the physicality of these men’s indefinite impotence mocks a similar inability on their part to penetrate the law. Kafka’s male characters and their unending state of non-ejaculation mirror the position of the countryman in “Before the Law,” who is unable to walk through the doorway. This study interprets the connection between these unfulfilled sexualized gestures and the law by drawing on Kafka’s texts and related theory. Using a series of equivalences, this study finds its foundation in Derrida’s claim that the “law is prohibition” 1 and then builds its argument by addressing Freud’s two fundamental prohibitions of totemism: namely incest and patricide. In understanding the homosexual relationships of the text as instances of incest—due to the authoritative positioning of Kafka’s characters—the sexualized gestures that exist in Kafka’s texts become instances that aim to achieve the prohibited, that seek to “instate the law.” 2 Ultimately, this study proves the inaccessibility of the law to men in Kafka’s texts and shows where women—who physically match the doorway of the law—exist in relation to the law.
❐ PDFThe discovery of antibiotics revolutionized medicine by making dangerous bacterial infections and diseases easily treatable. Life expectancies climbed in part due to the ease of treatment for diseases such as tuberculosis and pneumonia, diseases that for centuries were practically a death sentence. Furthermore, antibiotics decreased the risk of post-surgery infections, allowing doctors to develop more sophisticated surgical procedures that extended the average human life expectancy even further. However, these advances are at risk as the pathogens that antibiotics once easily controlled are rapidly evolving resistance to antibiotics due to their widespread overuse and misuse. Antibiotic-resistant infections exact a high price both to human life and to the economy, and experts in medicine, microbiology, economics, and other fields predict that these costs will only increase unless immediate action is taken. This study's purpose is to isolate antibiotic compounds that may be used to create antibiotics to which bacterial pathogens are not resistant. This research cultured on various media the bacteria in soil samples from Church Farm, Ashford, CT. This study utilized morphology to characterize the bacterial isolates and tested them for antibiotic activity against non-pathogenic bacteria.
❐ PDFThe Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a famous and highly beloved work partly because there seems to be a symbol packed into every sentence. On a first read, it is simple to understand but a second read allows the deeper meaning to be realized. His writing gives life to objects that would normally be static. Using subtle repetition and a parallel structure with every image relating in some way to the action of the novel, Fitzgerald portrays the complexity of the novel within a moment. Matthew J. Bruccoli describes the book as “An intricately planned book—a book in which, the symbols, the images connect up in meaningful ways,” (183). First time readers would never pick up on the fact that every individual paragraph in itself helps to determine the fate of the book. In this essay, I explore how Fitzgerald uses foreshadowing, metaphors, imagery, symbols, and personification to develop his characters, rather than direct characterization.
This paper will show how negative attitudes towards pigeons can be used as a lens through which to explore our negative societal feelings towards categorical transgression, as well as gender role nonconformity. Pigeons occupy a unique and significant space in our social world. As a bird it is expected to conform to pre-existing categorizations, some of which include: Residing in a natural habitat removed from our own, chirping daintily, presenting themselves infrequently for viewing through binoculars, existing in small numbers, and as our colloquialism illustrates, “eating like a bird”. So how does our relationship to a species of birds change when they exist in our urban environment, flapping about rambunctiously in large numbers, defecating all over our cherished public spaces, and eating large amounts of fast-food trash? The “Act Like a Man”(ALAM) box will be used to show how our relationships with socially constructed animal roles and expectations parallel non-animal roles and expectations reinforced by traditional gender roles. Pigeons are forced into an “Act Like a Bird” box as I have briefly described above, and when they begin to exist outside of that box they are met with hostility on all fronts. Through social and historical perspectives and careful examination of relevant literature on prejudice in the fields of Gender and Human Animal Studies, I will show how one can make use of the pigeon as a metaphor through which to gain greater insight into our societal attitudes towards categorical transgression, and more specifically gender role deviation.
❐ PDFIn our globally connected world, it is important to understand other cultures, including their history, their present, and their hopes and needs for the future. We have so many opportunities to do this, including the valuable resource of the Internet- which can be used within a culture to provide services to people unable to physically attend some parts of cultural life or to communicate with others who share a history, and it can be used for intercultural education. However, the World Wide Web offers many chances to spread misinformation from unreliable and appropriative sources, even if they have positive intentions. Moreover, online retail can give cultures a chance to sustain themselves in a global capitalist world, both economically and religiously —or it can be used to sell cultural facets misrepresented by companies with no cultural history, essentially stealing money from a culture and allowing people with no background to wear religious or otherwise specific and special motifs in an inappropriate way. There are many ways to appreciate a culture different from our own in a respectful and nonappropriative way, and as humans living in this world together, we owe it to each other to try.
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